GREEN PARTY COUNCILLORS in Dublin City are proposing a doubling of the levy on new hotels and using the proceeds to lower the costs of building new homes.

The city’s development levy is applied to all new buildings in the city, calculated per square metre.

The current commercial development levy is €128.10 per square metre and the Green Party is proposing to double this for hotel development and quadruple it for advertising screens.

The proposal from the Green Party is included in Dublin City Council’s draft development levy scheme, which is available for public consultation until 20 April.

The draft will be voted on by the full city council in June.

The Green Party says this increased levy on new hotels would raise an estimated €3m a year. 

Meanwhile, advertising screens have been exempt from development charges for decades and the Green Party said the proceeds from both would be directed toward home building and city improvements.

“This extra revenue could be used to reduce the equivalent charge on new residential developments and support public projects across the city,” said the Green Party.

The charge on new residential developments is €122.85 per square metre.

Green Party councillor Feljin Jose remarked that there is a “serious imbalance” in Dublin.

“We’ve made it easy and lucrative to build hotels, and too expensive to build homes,” said Jose.

“This proposal uses the city’s own tax system to start correcting that – without costing the council a cent.

“We’re taking action on the proliferation of advertising screens across our city. They add nothing to our streetscape and need to pay their way.”

Meanwhile, councillor Michael Pidegeon, who is the Green Party’s finance spokesperson, said: “More homes, fewer hotels – that’s what Dublin needs right now.”

He further remarked that the development levy is “one of the tools we have to shape what gets built in this city”.

“We want to use it deliberately and strategically, ensuring that the country’s building sector is prioritising what is necessary.”

The Green group of eight councillors has encouraged residents and stakeholders to take part in the public consultation process.

Submissions or observations can be made up until 5pm on Monday, 20 April and can be made online at engage.dublincity.ie

Submissions can also be made by post clearly marked “Draft Development Contribution Scheme” and addressed to:

Sheila Hennessy, Senior Executive Officer, Planning, Property & Economic Development Department, Dublin City Council, Block 4, Floor 3, Civic Offices, Dublin 8, D08 RF3F.